McGinn leading mayoral race by a hair

McGinn leading mayoral race by a hair
SEATTLE -- The city's mayoral race is still up in the air.

Updated poll results released Thursday afternoon showed Mike McGinn in the lead by just 515 votes with about 65 percent of the expected votes counted.

The numbers showed McGinn with 49.78 percent of the votes (65,172) and Mallahan with 49.38 percent (64,657).

Thursday's results widened the gap between the two candidates by just a sliver. On Wednesday, McGinn was leading by 462 votes.

The margin has differed each day since Tuesday, but McGinn has consistently been in the lead. Initial results released Tuesday night showed McGinn in the lead by less than 1,000 votes.

Mallahan and McGinn are two political newcomers. Both outpolled Mayor Greg Nickels in the August primary and advanced to Tuesday's election. Nickels had been dogged by criticism of his handling of a snow storm last year.

McGinn made opposition to the tunnel a centerpiece of his primary campaign, but softened his position a few weeks ago. His campaign highlighted experience he had leading parks levy campaign and his activism with the Sierra Club, the national environmental organization.

The next set of numbers from King County will not be out until 4:30 p.m. Friday.

To view the latest election results, click here.